Last season was one of the worst in Canucks history, as the team set a franchise record for fewest goals, most losses, and worst goal differential. And yet, there was a belief among the Canucks management, coaching, players, and some of their fans that they weren’t that far off from their goals.
It was believed that with a healthier lineup, particularly a healthy Brandon Sutter, everything would have been different. Sutter missed all but 20 games in his first season with the Canucks, placing a heavier load on Bo Horvat and gutting the Canucks’ depth at centre.
"The tough thing for us and for Brandon is he didn’t get to show what he could do last year," said Willie Desjardins. "Everybody felt in our dressing room that if he's there then we're in the playoffs this year."
Well, the Canucks have had a healthy (or healthy-ish) Brandon Sutter all season. He’s missed just one game and has done pretty much exactly what the Canucks would expect: won faceoffs and scored goals. He leads the Canucks with a 55.5% faceoff winning percentage and he’s tied with Markus Granlund for second on the team in goalscoring.
And yet, the Canucks are no closer to the playoffs this year than they were last year. In fact, if you look at several key stats, this year’s Canucks are actually worse. The Canucks have played 60 games so far this season. Let’s compare them directly to last season after 60 games.
Points:
Last year: 60 points
This year: 58 points
At the very least, they’re on pace for more than 65 points.
Goals scored:
Last year: 143
This year: 138
The Canucks are on pace for even fewer goals than last season. When they set a franchise record for fewest goals. That’s with both Sutter and Granlund on pace for 20-goal seasons.
Goals against:
Last year: 168
This year: 170
But the Canucks defensive depth is their strength, guys!
Power play percentage:
Last year: 17.6%
This year: 14.5%
The problem is that Jayson Megna hasn’t been on the power play for the entire season, probably.
Penalty kill percentage:
Last year: 81.6%
This year: 78.3%
This is getting depressing.
Corsi for percentage:
Last year: 47.22%
This year: 48.59%
By God, an improvement!
Fenwick for percentage:
Last year: 47.62%
This year: 47.59%
Oh.
Shots for percentage:
Last year: 48.17%
This year: 47.30%
Oh no.
But hey, at least they’re winning more faceoffs. They’ve improved their faceoff percentage from 45.4% to 51.6%! Awesome!
You’re sellers, Jim. Sell.
